Process of ornamenting surfaces



' (Ho modem" J. 81; L. SGHRAM.

PROCESS OF ORNAMENTING SURFACES.

No. 533.678. Patented Feb. 5, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT JACOB SOHRAM AND LOUIS SOHRAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OF ORNAMENTING SURFACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,673, dated February 5, 1895.

Application filed September 5, 1894. Serial No. 522,177. (No specimens.)

a specification.

Our invention relates to an improved process of ornamenting surfaces, especially applicable to picture-frames, moldings and the like, and it will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, representing a plan view of a piece of molding having its central panel ornamented in accordance with our invention.

A indicates a piece of molding, suitable for picture-frames or other purposes; 13, a panel thereof provided with relief or applique 0rnamentation of the usual form, and O a panel ornamented in accordance with ourinvention, which we employ as a rule, though not always, in association with ornamentation of the character of the ornamentation B.

Our invention consists in first giving the plane surface to be ornamented a gold, silver or other metal-leaf finish, burnished or not according to the effect desired; then laying upon this finished surface a pattern of thin metal, having the configuration of the ornamental design which is to be presented; then, with the pattern in place giving the surface a coating of oil sizing; then removing the pattern and after allowing the oil sizing to dry to a suitable consistency, applying metalleaf in the usual way to the entire surface or panel to be ornamented; and finally brushing or wiping the surface to remove the metalleaf from over the ornamental figure or design to which, owing to the absence of oil sizing at that portion of the surface, it has not adhered. To finish the article a coat of lacquer is applied as usual. The resulting appearance is novel and very beautiful, and a great variety of effects may be produced by changing and modifying the colors and still further by repeating the process.

For example, by starting from a burnished gold surface, coating with silver leaf, and finishin g with transparent lacquer, the effect is that of a dull silver ground with an ornamentation of burnished gold running through it. If, however, gold leaf instead of silver leaf had been employed for the coating, the effect would have been that of a dull gold ground with a burnished gold ornamentation running through it; but the same effect may he produced more cheaply from the former by using a gold lacquer instead of a transparent lacquer. It is, therefore, not necessary that the base and overlaid leaf shall contrast in color; but if they do not contrast the base must be burnished, whereas if they do contrast this is a matter of choice. By following these suggestions any two colors or shades of colors of which metal-leaf is susceptible maybe brought togetherinthe relation named, viz., one as a ground and the other as an ornamental figure running through it. In all cases, owing to the extreme thinness of metalleaf, there is no appreciable depression where the leaf is removed from the ornamental figure, so that the appearance is that of variation of color in the same superficial plane.

If additional colors are desired as forming a part of the ornamental figure, they may readily be obtained bya simple carrying forward of the same process. For this purpose two or more patterns are employed, progressing in series to the complete ornamental design, and thus each addition to the ornamental figure takes the preceding ground color. Thus, if the ultimate pattern sought is a black ground, with the ornamental design running through it, partly in burnished gold and partly silver, the operation is as follows: The surface or part to be ornamented is first finished in burnished gold, a pattern forming so much of the design as is to appear in burnished gold is applied, the whole is coated over with oil sizing, the silver leaf is applied after removing the pattern, and the non-adhering portion removed by friction, all as before described. Next a second pattern, precisely like the first but with the addition of the part of the design that is to appear in silver, is placed on the surface or panel, so that it covers the burnished gold figures and alsosuch portions of the silver ground as will complete the design. The whole is then coated. with oil sizing, as before, the pattern removed, and black metal-leaf applied to the whole surface. Vhen the non-adhering portions are removed by friction, both the burnished gold and the silver portions of the design are exposed to view through theopenings in the black ground and the design is complete. To fix the metal leaf it is given a coat of transparent lacquer, as before described. By further repetitions of the process still other colors may be obtained to make up the aggregate ornamentation, but for commercial purposes one or two colors in the ornamental figure are ordinarily sufficient.

What We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The process of ornamenting a plane sur- 

